MLBRT 1/11/2024

The questions and discussion…

1) Does Carlos Beltran belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame… does his MLB resume eventually earn him a plaque in Cooperstown? Why or why not?

And if his resume suggests he does belong in the Hall will his association with the sign-stealing scandal with the 2017 Astros keep him from being selected into the Hall? Why or why not?

Dan: This is an easy one: no.

For having an integral part of the sign-stealing scandal revolving around banging trash cans in Houston eliminates him from Houston. To me, it doesn’t matter what he did during his career as a player. His managerial and coaching career isn’t enough to really determine how good or bad he was. But the fact that he was involved in the cheating and was one of the main people leading the way with the cheating, would eliminate him.

It elevates it even more that when you purposely refuse to vote for players who deserve to be in the Hall of Fame for their participation in the ‘steroid era’ of baseball, it should be an absolute no-brainer that Beltran’s actions as a non-player in leading the trash can banging, sign-stealing scandal in Houston will eliminate him.

Joe: As far as his statistics as a player… a Rookie of the Year, three Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers along with a slash line of .279/.350./486 (119 OPS+) with 2,725 hits, 565 doubles, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBI and 1,582 runs… I would say he should be a definite Hall of Fame selectee.

However, his involvement in the sign stealing boondoggle and the fact he was reputedly a leader of the Astros cheating their way to a World Series title is going to be a determining factor for a significant number of the voters to keep from being voted into the Hall.

2) The Atlanta Braves recently acquired storied left-handed starter Chris Sale and $17 million in cash considerations from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for young infielder Vaughn Grissom. Since that trade, and despite a rumor a from the Athletic that the Braves were slated to pay Sale just $500,000 in 2024 with the rest deferred until 2039, the Braves have negotiated a two-year extension worth $38 million with no mention of any deferred money.

What is your overall opinion of this trade between the Braves and The Red Sox ? Why?

And now that Sale is part of the Braves starting rotation how does their rotation compare to that of the present Los Angeles Dodgers rotation? If you were a MLB manager whose rotation would you rather have? Why?

Dan: It was a good deal by both sides. The Red Sox got rid of a player who just didn’t fit the bill in what they were paying, and the risk that they were taking for a pitcher who isn’t the same great pitcher that he once was. And they were able to get a young, MLB-ready player to add to their infield. So it’s a very good risk-reward trade that they made. It was time for Chris Sale to move on from Boston. Atlanta made a great move by acquiring Sale as a third or fourth-option pitcher, not paying him a whole lot, and they can absorb the loss of him if he does miss some time from injury. If he’s healthy all season, he’ll be a huge addition to a team that already is really secure overall on their way to being favorites (at least in my mind) for a World Series run.

As far as the Dodgers or Braves, I’ll take the Braves. They have Strider, now Sale, Morton and Fried as their top of the rotation. They can also use Elder in the fifth slot and that’s pretty secure.

The Dodgers have Yamamoto, who has never thrown a pitch in the majors. He could falter. He could dominate. He’s ultimately a complete question mark. They got Glasnow, but he hasn’t stayed healthy for the hefty portion of his career, which could be problematic for the season. Urias status is up in the air after his criminal findings and charges are leaving his eligibility in limbo and incoming suspension expected. Kershaw still hasn’t confirmed if he’s coming back for 2024 or not, so he’s also a question mark. And, if he does, will he be able to stay healthy?

Give me the Braves. Better and more consistent.

Joe: The trade is a win for both teams.

Yeah, Grissom is still unproven at the major league level but his projected upside as both a hitter and a field is sky high and fills a big need for a wanting Red Sox infield… he can play both second and short and the Sox probably slot him in at second.

Sale if he is healthy for the 2024 season can be a potential ace as he is still a pitcher who throws strikes, makes batters swing and miss and when they do hit the ball it stays in the park with essentially weak contact.

I’ll take the Braves projected rotation of Max Fried (62-26/3.03 ERA/1.163WIP), Spencer Strider (32-10/3.37 ERA/1.054 WHIP), Charlie Morton (130-113/4.00 ERA/1.305 WHIP, Bryce Elder(14-8/3.66 ERA/1.268 WHIP)and the newly acquired Chris Sale (130-80/3.10/1.047 WHIP) who if he is healthy could be a threat to be the Braves best pitcher over the Dodgers projected rotation which is essentially all a bunch of question marks… Yoshinobu Yamamoto has never thrown a pitch in the majors, Tyler Glasnow hasn’t thrown more than 120 innings in a season, Walker Buehler is coming off Tommy John surgery, Bobby Miller was a rookie who only pitched 124 innings and who knows what his sophomore season will bring, Julio Urias is probably facing a Domestic Violence suspension by the commissioner’s office and Clay Kershaw is recovering from shoulder surgery and won’t throw a MLB inning until at least mid-season and is in fact still unsigned.

3) The Baltimore Orioles won 101 games during the 2023 regular season and prevailed in what is arguably Major League Baseball’s toughest division in the AL East. So far this off-season their activity to improve the team has been somewhat underwhelming in particular in regards to enhancing their starting pitching which lost starter Kyle Gibson to the St. Louis Cardinals in free agency.

If the Orioles essentially stay the course and don’t make any significant acquisitions to their roster will they repeat as AL East Champions? Or will they regress to the point that they might be a non-playoff team in 2024? Why or why not?

Dan: I’m going to say yes.

While they don’t have their All-Star rookie closer in Felix Bautista for almost the entire season, if not the entire season, they brought in Kimbrel to take his spot and offer reliability at the back end of games. They have a very similar lineup to last season. They have a pretty consistent roster without many moves from last season. And they had one of the best records in the majors last year.

I don’t think the Rays are going to be able to overtake them while losing their star pitcher in Tyler Glasnow. The Blue Jays still haven’t done enough to get ahead of the top two teams and the Yankees still have a lot of question marks all over their roster. They need pitching. They still need offensive help. I think Soto and Judge are going to be great together, but they need to add more. Fill in the holes, add some support. The Red Sox are still at the bottom of the division and aren’t making too many huge strides to cut that difference. Baltimore is still the favorite to win the AL East heading into the 2024 start of spring training.

Joe: Right now, without making any real significant off-season moves outside of signing Kimbrel to be their temporary closer in place of Bautista who is gone for the year due to TJ surgery. I still think the Orioles are the best in the AL East.

The Yankees basically only added Soto wo will help their batting order immensely but other than that they could still use another bat or two and they need starting pitching. The Red Sox don’t impress me at all. Nuff said there. The Rays somehow always seem to be in contention, but they lost Glasnow and need others to step up big time. And the Jays need pitching and have lost some offense so they need to add a bat or two also.

So, taking all that into consideration I think the 2023 101 win Orioles are the best in the AL East for 2024 and should repeat as the winners of the East. At least at this point in time.

4: And speaking about the Cardinals…

They have already done a great deal of work in repairing a rotation that was the prime mover in their surprising struggles of 2023 when they finished last in the NL Central 20 games under .500 by adding the aforementioned Kyle Gibson, along with Sonny Gray and Lance Lynn.

Are these acquisitions enough to vault the Cardinals back into the playoffs for 2024 and/or even being the NL Central champs? Or do they still need to add another starter either through free agency or by effecting a trade? Why or why not?

Dan: While the Cardinals don’t need to do a whole lot in the NL Central division, I don’t think they’ve done enough.

They were a very poor team last season. And while a couple moves have helped them, they need more offense. And they need to take steps to surpass the Cubs’ pitching, especially after Chicago just signed the strikeout leader from NPB to a contract. They also got one of the best managers in baseball this year. The Brewers are also at the top of the division and the Reds are going to be in line to compete for the divisional title this year as well after getting a full year, or partial year, from their young stars and not really making too many changes.

The Cardinals need to add some offense and do a little more to get to where they’re used to being.

Joe: To be honest I’m not really impressed with their pitching additions.

Gray is the best of the three as he has had a 3.22 ERA since 2019 and he consistently takes his turn in the rotation as he hasn’t missed more than a dozen starts during that period. In 2023 he finished second in the American League in pitching WAR (5.3) and ERA (2.79).and his 2.83 FIP was the best in the AL. Still I remember his time with the Yanks when in 2018 he struggled to keep his ERA under 5.00 and his WHIP was 1.496 and he is way on the wrong side of 30 as he’s 35 and sooner or later he is going to start showing that age.

Gibson is 36 and allowed 198 hits (the most in the AL in 2023) in 192 innings pitched. Plus his 4.73 ERA wasn’t much better than the 2023 Cardinals’ collective team 4.79 mark.

Lynn is 37 and he posted a 5.73 ERA, which was the second-worst of any full-time starter in MLB. Plus he yielded a staggering 44 home runs.

The Cards still need pitching help in a very big way. These three guys… at least Gibson and Lynn go at any rate… ain’t going to cut for them in my opinion.

And I haven’t even addressed their need to add offense yet. But I’ll leave well enough alone as with their pitching as it is it’s going to keep them from being a threat in 2024 unless they do something to fix that situation which I don’t think they will.

5) Former Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer made news recently by saying he would “love a second opportunity to do things better” and make a return to Major League Baseball after sexual assault allegations halted his career, leading to a long suspension and eventual release from the Dodgers.
Bauer, who played baseball in Japan last year, told Fox News Thursday that he was “reckless” and “made a lot of mistakes along the way.”

Does Bauer’s “apology” merit a second chance from MLB and an invite to return to MLB? Why or why not?

And if MLB were to extend an invitation to Bauer to come back to the U.S. game would there be many MLB teams interested in pursuing a deal with him or do you think his past would cloud his market and keep teams, especially the teams most likely being in contention for the playoffs, from bidding for his services? Why or why not?

Dan: Trevor Bauer deserves a second chance.

He didn’t get convicted for any criminal wrongdoing in his actions. He deserves to get another shot in the majors. His life doesn’t need to be over because he likes to be rough in the bedroom with his partners. He shouldn’t be blackmailed from teams, and he would be a big contributor for competing teams as depth, or young teams as an ace and leader on the field for young players in teaching them how to handle a full season, how to prepare, right mindset on the field as a pitcher, etc.

There would definitely be a market for him. There’s teams that want to compete and need to add pitching and he can definitely be that piece that fits in. He might take a little longer to get back to playing at his level he used to play at, but teams definitely need to take the flyer on him.
He has a market. Give him the second chance.

Joe: I think with his public admission that he had made mistakes in his past and he has since settled an ongoing legal feud over sexual assault claims with his accuser and that he was never charged with any crimes he deserves a so-called second chance to return to MLB.

Whether that actually happens is another issue.

Extra Innings…